


A New Beginning

by HoneyGrunge



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: The Telltale Series (Video Game)
Genre: But mostly feelings, Feels, Fluff, Hand Jobs, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Masturbation, Porn with Feelings, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:28:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29396268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneyGrunge/pseuds/HoneyGrunge
Summary: It's Valentine's day, and Bruce has finally managed to work up the courage to confess his feelings for John. Based on the "best ending" for vigilante Joker, post season 2.
Relationships: John Doe/Bruce Wayne, Joker (DCU)/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 5
Kudos: 67





	A New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I just felt like taking a break from my usual depressing angst to write some happy, mindless fluff for Valentine's day because I just finished the telltale game and wanted to celebrate! But of course I had to add porn because I'm a nasty degenerate 😈

Bruce straightened his tie and gave himself a final once-over in the parlor mirror before checking his watch and letting out a nervous sigh. He’d been planning this for weeks but now that the time was here, it was impossible to quell the fear of ruining his friendship with John. As each hour passed, fear only sank its claws deeper into his chest, making it harder to breathe and threatening to make him sweat through his suit.

“Hey! Going out?”

Bruce jumped and whirled around, relaxing when he saw Tiffany leaning against the doorway.

“Jesus, you’re getting better and better at sneaking up on me every day,” Bruce huffed, rewarding her with a small laugh. “I’m visiting John, remember? Twice a week, an hour each day.”

“Riiiight, sorry, I should’ve known, I’ve just been distracted today,” she said, crossing her arms and moving further into the room. “So how is he these days? It's been 9 months, right? I know you said he’s been doing really well with the art therapy.”

“Yeah, 9 months next Wednesday. And he uh, he’s actually  _ really  _ good at painting. He’s considering becoming a professional painter and photographer when he finally gets out of there. And I promised to support him while he’s starting out.”

“You’re an amazing friend, Bruce,” she said, her voice becoming thicker with emotion as she remembered the dark months after Lucius’ death. “I mean, after all you’ve done for me and my family...I know John is in good hands. Anyways, tell him I said hi. I’m going to be working on an update for the computer downstairs, call me if you need me.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Bruce teased as she walked to the grandfather clock and let herself into the Batcave. Her words had left him with a renewed sense of hope and had calmed his nerves. Even if John didn’t return his feelings, he was sure that they could still be friends. Hell, if their friendship could survive betrayal and attempted murder, surely a little thing like unrequited love wasn’t going to make everything go up in flames.

Then again, love had sparked wars throughout the course of human history, so Bruce’s fear still lingered as he walked out of the parlor and towards the point of no return.

  
  
  
  
  
  


The wait was always the worst part. John was currently only granted one-on-one, supervised conjugal visits because he’d recently had a fight with another inmate (the inmate had been shit talking Bruce and John had broken the man’s nose). This meant that Bruce had to wait until the paperwork was filed and the other visitors had been escorted to the courtyard for the group visits, but today Bruce was just focused on being thankful for the privacy of being (sort of) alone in a room with John. Bruce would have to thank the broken nose guy for provoking John a week before Valentine’s day and giving Bruce the perfect opportunity to get this off his chest.

“Hey, Bruce,” the receptionist greeted in a flirtatious tone, her eyes darting to the roses and teddy bear clutched in Bruce’s hands. “Those wouldn’t happen to be for  _ me,  _ would they?”

At first Bruce thought she was joking, but the expectant look on her face quickly told him otherwise. He’d had some good conversations with her but he’d only meant to be polite and apparently she’d misinterpreted his intent. God, as if he really needed this awkwardness today of all days.

“Uh...no. They’re for...John. John Doe.”  _ Great. _ Now if he got cold feet, the news would spread like wildfire and John would find out what Bruce had meant to do anyway. Maybe this was the universe's way of letting Bruce know that it was meant to be. 

“Oh…,” she said, a look of thinly veiled disdain spreading across her face. Bruce bristled at the implication that John was ugly and undeserving of Bruce, and Bruce’s face must’ve shown it because she shrank back into her chair and offered an apologetic smile. “I’m sure he’ll love the flowers.”

Bruce silently swept by her and into the waiting room. He was running late so the room was already empty save for the people who were visiting the isolated patients. Sure enough, he’d only just sat down when his name was called.

“Bruce Wayne?” the orderly called, squinting at him from over her reading glasses and greeting him with a warm smile. As Bruce walked over he felt the eyes of everyone in the room boring into him; all of Gotham knew who he visited in here and he wouldn’t be surprised if some journalist was already frantically typing a scandal article claiming that Bruce had been caught with his tongue halfway down John’s throat. Which, if Bruce was honest with himself, sounded like the perfect way to spend Valentine’s with John. After all, Bruce was especially famous for his frenching skills. At any rate, there would definitely be multiple tabloids questioning Bruce’s sexuality since he still hadn’t come out as bisexual yet and had kept any flings with male partners under wraps.

Pink and red handmade decorations hung from the ceiling and were pasted all over the hallway walls, appearing to have been made by the inmates in their art classes. Most of the doors had decorations but as Bruce passed Harvey’s room he couldn’t help but notice that it was entirely barren. A sharp pang struck Bruce’s heart and he stopped, staring at the door and wondering if someday Harvey would ever be healthy enough to be released, and if they could ever be friends again. Bruce had tried to visit Harvey but his old friend wanted nothing to do with him. After a moment spent lost in thought, Bruce pulled a rose out of the bunch and carefully laid it at the foot of Harvey’s door. When Bruce turned, the orderly was patiently waiting and watching him with a sympathetic expression.

“I’ll make sure he gets it,” she promised before turning and continuing down the hallway. Bruce was thankful that he’d ended up with a friendly orderly today; there were a few in here who were bitter about their job and tried their hardest to make things difficult for everyone else.

When they finally got to John’s cell, Bruce paused to take a deep breath while the orderly waited with the key in the lock. She looked highly amused, smirking at Bruce as though she knew something he didn’t.

“Just knock on the door if you need anything, hon.” She unlocked the door and opened it, letting Bruce through before swinging it closed and locking it again, instead of staying in the room like Bruce had expected her to.

“Brucie!” John exclaimed, standing up too quickly in his excitement and nearly knocking a carafe of water off the table that had been set up for their visit. Bruce stopped in his tracks and took in John’s appearance: he looked  _ spectacular. _ He was wearing pinkish red lipstick and dark pink eyeshadow that set off his bright green eyes, easily making them the focal point of the entire room. John had been playing around with makeup ever since being re-admitted to Arkham, much to the enjoyment of Bruce, but he’d never dabbled in such bright colors before. John hesitated when he saw Bruce’s reaction, reaching up to touch his painted lips and appearing to lose all of his confidence.

“Is it, is it too much? Zsasz teased me about it this morning. I know it’s over the top but, you know, with it being the weekend of love and all-”

“No! No. Sorry, I just, um,” Bruce stuttered, feeling the heat rising in his cheeks, “You look absolutely  _ stunning,  _ John. This is my favorite look yet.”

John broke into his trademark grin and that’s when his eyes dropped down to notice the roses that Bruce was holding. “Oh, you didn’t tell me you have a  _ girlfriend _ in here, Brucie,” John snorted. He tried to keep his tone light but there was a nervous quiver in it. Bruce noticed just then that John hadn’t hugged Bruce like he normally did; he was holding something behind his back, which prevented him from doing so. Bruce cleared his throat and held out the flowers and teddy bear, taking a step closer and giving John a soft smile.

“Happy Valentine’s day, John.”

John was frozen to the spot, his wide eyes darting between Bruce’s face and the gifts.

“F-for me?” he repeated in disbelief. His arms dropped down to his sides and Bruce noticed that he was holding a pink envelope. “Oh, Bruce….”

John reached out to take the gifts and bashfully held out the homemade valentine, looking extremely relieved and happier by the second. “It’s not the best, but I didn’t exactly have good materials to work with. It’s like a preschool in the art room, we get crayons and markers and non-toxic paints so we don’t try to poison or stab each other,” he explained with an adorable chuckle. “But we still try, obviously.”

Bruce tore open the envelope and pulled out the valentine. It was a generic mass-produced card donated to the asylum by patrons, but when Bruce flipped open the cover he saw just how much effort John had put into the inside. An old selfie of them had been pasted into the center of the left side and John had painted an elaborate, lacey border dotted with hearts all around it. The right side had received the same treatment; the border decorated a pre-printed photo of two kittens kissing with the caption  _ “ _ **_You’re purrrrific!_ ** _ ”  _ beneath. Below that John had written a letter, which read:

_ Dear Brucie, _

_ Every day I wake up in here and the first thing I look forward to is seeing you in our next visit. I’m so lucky you’ve stuck around after everything that happened, and I know you already know this but your friendship has really saved my life. I’ve been so scared to tell you that I like you as more than a friend because I was terrified of losing you, but I just can’t sit on my feelings and keep wondering if you’ve found someone else, someone more stable out there who could make you happier than I could. So, yeah, that’s it I guess. Whatever you feel, I promise I’ll be okay with it. _

_ Always Yours, John ♡♡♡♡♡ _

“John….,” Bruce breathed. He looked back up at John, who was now squeezing the teddy bear as if it were a lifeline and looking as though he was about to start bouncing off the walls. “Nobody’s made me as happy as you make me. I feel like I can always be myself with you and I know you’ll never judge me.”

“That’s  _ exactly  _ how I feel, Brucie. I mean, I thought I was in love with Harley, but what we’ve got...I never felt like  _ this  _ when I was with her. I always feel like I’m gonna explode or, or pass out when I’m with you.”

Bruce chuckled at John’s dramatism and moved forward to place his hands on John’s hips. But before he could say anything romantic, John had their lips locked together and was pressing his body up against Bruce’s with enough force to knock Bruce’s hip into the side of the table. John kissed Bruce until they were both out of breath, and as John was recovering Bruce took his chance to say something that was weighing on him.

“John,” he started, his voice a gentle whisper, “I want us to take this slow. I don’t want you to feel like you  _ have  _ to do anything or act a certain way to make me happy or keep me from losing interest in you, because I won’t. I will wait  _ years  _ if I have to, I promise.”

“Oh, Bruce,” John whined, wrapping his arms tightly around Bruce’s shoulders, “I’m so happy, I don’t even remember the last time I was this happy.”

Bruce pressed his lips into John’s again and this time the kisses were more gentle and less desperate. Slowly, Bruce maneuvered them over to John’s bed to sit down, and when their bodies parted John’s hands were suddenly all over Bruce’s chest and stomach. John was getting flushed and Bruce had felt John’s erection against his groin before they’d sat down; Bruce couldn’t deny that he was becoming aroused too. He’d spent so many nights fantasizing about John and only indulging in his own hand and toys, he couldn't even imagine how much more excruciating the desire must be for John, being locked up with no other freedoms like this. Before Bruce could get his bearings, John’s hand was pulling at the clasp of Bruce’s belt.

_ “Please,  _ Brucie. Can I just  _ see  _ it? I just need to know what you look like,” he begged. John’s eyes were nearly manic with lust and Bruce was no better off. His pants were now way too tight and he wanted nothing more than for John’s hand to be touching him.

“But the orderly-”

“-won’t care. Judy is really nice and turns a blind eye when inmates burn off steam with each other, she even smuggles in condoms for us,” John hurriedly explained with a glance towards the door. "And I convinced Dr. Leland that I wasn't suicidal anymore so I don't have a camera in my room now!"

“Well then...anything for you, baby,” Bruce breathed, reaching down to undo himself and humming when John let out a half whimper, half gasp of need. When Bruce had himself freed and glanced back up, John already had his white Arkham pants pulled down and was frantically working himself, desperate for release that wasn’t just based on fantasy.

“Oh  _ god,  _ Bruce,” John hissed, stifling a groan when Bruce wrapped an arm around John’s slim shoulders and squeezed him closer. “I need you, I  _ need  _ you, I feel like I’m losing my mind all over again every time I jerk off. I need to  _ feel  _ you,” John babbled, punctuating each exclamation with a kiss on Bruce’s neck.

Bruce reached over to pull John’s hand away and placed it on his own dick, biting down hard on his lip when John immediately began working him with an intense rhythm. Bruce reached over and took John’s cock in his own hand, trying his best to match the speed and movements that John had been using. But even if he’d been off the mark John wouldn’t have cared; he was already falling apart and was near tears because of how much pleasure he was experiencing.

Bruce felt John nip at his earlobe; goosebumps sprang up all over Bruce’s body when John’s warm breath washed over his sensitive skin.

“I love you, Bruce,” John confessed, prompting Bruce to grab John’s shirt and drag his face over for another passionate kiss.

“I love you too, John,” Bruce growled, bucking up into John’s smooth hand. He was almost there, and from the sound of it John was too. John was panting heavily and his stifled whines were becoming higher in pitch as Bruce mercilessly pumped him. John spread his legs a little wider and brought his spare hand up to bite his knuckles, then with a gasp he jolted and spurted over Bruce’s fingers. He cried out Bruce’s name, muffling the noise with the back of his pale hand as his eyes fluttered back into his head.

_ “Fuuuuucccckkkkk, Bruuuuuuciiieeee,”  _ John groaned. His hand squeezed tighter around Bruce and that was all that Bruce needed before he was cumming too, painting the speckled linoleum floor with his semen. John slumped into him and let out a dazed little laugh of pure delight while Bruce caught his breath. Bruce reached for a tissue from the box on John’s dresser but John stopped him, instead pulling Bruce’s hand over to lick it clean before doing the same to his own hand.

“I’m sorry that we couldn’t do this in a more romantic setting,” Bruce said with a sheepish smile, triggering more of John’s carefree giggles.

“You could’ve given me a handjob in a dumpster and I’d still be happy, Brucie,” John teased while Bruce grabbed tissues to clean up below their waists. They'd just managed to get themselves decent again when John’s mood suddenly crashed and tears began streaming down his cheeks. Bruce immediately launched into protection mode and wrapped his arms around John, pulling him in for a tight hug and murmuring that everything was going to be okay.

“I hate it here,” John sobbed, burying his face into Bruce’s suit and clinging to him as if he would never let Bruce leave again. “I just want to die sometimes, it’s so boring and the other inmates are so  _ mean.  _ And then, on top of that I was so scared of losing you by telling you I’ve had feelings for you ever since that time in the fun house, when you trusted me...it’s been torture, Bruce. I know I used to like living here, but now that I have you I can't do another ten years, or even one year.  _ It's torture.” _

“Shhhh, shhhhh, I know, I know,” Bruce comforted, rubbing a hand over John’s bony back as he cried. Bruce had often considered using his power to get John out of this place, but he’d never suggested it because he didn’t want it to be unfair to the other inmates who had little hope of getting out even if they were relatively stable. Not to mention that John had killed at least six people during his breakdown. But now, seeing John in so much distress was tearing Bruce up and he could hardly bear it. This obviously wasn’t the best solution for John’s mental health and Bruce had to do something about it, even if it got him into legal trouble. Not many would dare to challenge Bruce in a court battle, and if they did, at least John’s happiness would make it worthwhile.

“Hey, John, listen to me. I can break the rules and arrange for you to be released to live at the manor, and I will if you want me to. It’ll cause a hell of a lot of drama and people will complain, but if you’re okay with that then I am too. But you have to  _ promise  _ me to stay on your medication, and we’ll set up outpatient therapy with a private practice psychiatrist. If you break that promise or start getting violent impulses again, I’ll have to bring you back here for your own safety and the safety of others, okay? Then maybe we could try again after that. But no matter what happens, I will never abandon you. I'd rather die.”

John’s tears were more relieved than anguished now, and he was beginning to calm down. He pulled away from Bruce’s chest and nodded, accepting a tissue from Bruce and trying to breathe deeply in order to calm himself.

“You really don’t know how happy that makes me, Bruce,” he said. “I just want to have fun with you again, and try to start a life together, a  _ healthy  _ life. I know I said that night when I attacked you that I couldn’t be good because I just wasn’t a good person, but Dr. Leland says that I can be good, and that my mental illness and past don’t define me. She says Harley manipulated me to become more unstable and dishonest during therapy, but I don't know...everything I did after a certain point was all my fault.”

“Well, I promise that we’re gonna take it slow, okay? I could have prevented a lot of things if I'd just taken your red flags and breakdown seriously, but I promise I won't turn a blind eye again. I promise I won't let you get to the point where you lose control again. I’m going to make sure you have as much stability as possible and we're going to be happy. You won’t have to worry about a thing.”

“I know you'll take care of me, Bruce,” John whispered, leaning in to tenderly kiss Bruce’s cheek. “I trust you.”

The orderly knocked on the door and they both jumped in surprise then rushed to make themselves presentable, which was already a lost battle. When Judy opened the door, John was rubbing in vain at the lipstick marks all over Bruce’s face and neck, and Bruce was trying to wipe away the drops of cum that were now staining John's pants. Judy shook her head and looked up at the ceiling before fixing them with a bemused smile.

“Honestly, you’d think this place was a high school with all the hormones flying around in here. I’ll give you two minutes to fix yourselves up.”

She stepped out and John broke into ecstatic, embarrassed laughter. Bruce couldn’t help but join in.

“We’re gonna be alllll over those sleazy magazines,” John snickered while dipping a tissue into the water carafe to clean Bruce’s face. “I just hope the paparazzi get my good side.”

“Welcome to my life, baby,” Bruce sighed. “They’re vicious but you get used to them, eventually.”

“I’d put up with  _ anything  _ to be with you,” John purred, leaning in to nuzzle Bruce’s cheek. Bruce turned his face to better push it against John’s and reveled in the moment. After all the trauma they’d suffered together, it finally felt as though things were going to be okay. The peace that Bruce felt when he was with John was entirely new to him, and knowing that soon he would be able to take John out for a simple date was the best feeling in the world.

“And I would do anything to be with you, John.”

They let the moment last until they had no more time left, sharing a final kiss goodbye when Judy opened the door to end the session. The time had gone so much faster than it usually did, and they were both upset at being parted again after such an amazing experience. But John looked happier than Bruce had ever seen him; he was beaming and waving enthusiastically as Bruce stepped out of the room.

As Bruce followed Judy back out of the winding hallways of the asylum, he let himself hope for a happy future for the first time since the loss of his parents. John had helped him learn what happiness was, and he was never going to let it go. Until he’d met John, Bruce had only seen himself as Gotham’s defender, and the purpose of his life had been justice. But now, Bruce could see himself as other things too: a lover, a husband, a happy man with someone to come home to every day. And maybe even a father, if John wanted that too.

For once, Bruce had something to live for that was peaceful instead of violent, and he would do anything to protect it.

Even if it meant giving up the cowl.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr and Twitter: Maedhros36
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! ♡


End file.
